Tried to start my 1998 monster 900, turned for a while until battery went flat. Put battery on charge, and tried to start bike next day. Starter wouldn't turn at all. Any ideas?

Could be the starter

follow each step in the torubleshooter until you find the trouble.

Hi and welcome to the site,

Initially, have you checked the 30A main fuse? It would be inside the starter relay. To locate the starter relay, follow the cable from the battery's + terminal.

Good luck and thank you for asking.

Have battery load tested, check all connections on starter, on battery, and on the engine where the ground cable hooks up.

?.....was the bang when you tried to start the bike...or as you turned ignition on?...if when you turned ignition on sounds like you need to check wireing...if bang was when you truned eneing over it could be unburt petrol that banged when bike tried to fire up !!...

try tapping on the starter motor/solenoid, it sounds like the solenoind is engaging(the clunk you hear) but the starter is not turning if the wire is getting hot it could be the starter is frozen up.

Did you try removing the starter and testing it on a "bench"? Sounds like it might be "jammin" up. Loose, misalignment, it's worth a try and doesn't cost anything. good luck

Pull the spark plugs out and hit the starter. This will make sure that the engine is not locked up. If the starter does not turn the engine, put the bike in first gear and have someone push you, making sure the engine is free. If the engine is OK, your starter is probably jammed and needs replaced. That wire getting hot is a dead giveaway something is locked up tight...starter or engine. If ya have a large hi-performance engine in the bike, chances are your stock starter won't do the job.